In one of the most memorable scenes in ¡°Pulp Fiction,¡± a film replete with memorable scenes, a Los Angeles gangster, Marsellus Wallace, turns the tables on a man who has kidnapped and abused him. He¡¯s going to get a couple of friends to go to work on his assailant ¡°with a pair of pliers and a blow torch,¡± he says, and ensure that he spends ¡°the rest of his short life in agonizing pain.¡± In short, he¡¯s going to ¡°get medieval¡± on him.
There has been an awful lot of ¡°getting medieval¡± in the world recently. The ¡°12-day war¡± between Israel and Iran was all about the most modern weapons of mass destruction humanity has devised. Yet it was frequently discussed in a language that is more resonant of the Middle Ages than the scientific laboratory.
Consider Donald Trump¡¯s ¡°rage tweet¡± in reply to the Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (¡°stupid AOC¡±) and her suggestion that the president should be impeached for authorizing the bombing of Iran without congressional approval. Or Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, who gets called ¡°the mouse.¡± Former U.S. President Joe Biden is ¡°Sleepy Joe.¡± Sen. Chuck Schumer is ¡°Cryin¡¯ Chuck¡± or ¡°Our Great Palestinian Senator.¡±
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.